Monday, June 30, 2008

Looking to have a little fun with the kiddies? PLG Arts(Prospect Lefferts Gardens Arts) has just the thing! Attending the group's annual FREE production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream entitled Daydream is a really enjoyable way to spend a summer afternoon! I was fortunate enough to attend the opening performance this past Saturday expecting only to catch a little puppet performance. I was pleasantly surprised by perrformance as well as the post-performance activities. The kids were engaged from the first line of the script until the end of the post-performance activities.

Daydream 2008 funded in part with a grant from the office of State Senator Eric Adams. Post-show children's activity funded with a New Yorkers for Better Neighborhoods award from the Citizens Committee for New York City.

Here's a sample of the post-performance fun including puppet making and bubble extravaganza.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Crystal's Bar and Lounge 1458 Flatbush Avenue (btwn Glenwood and Farragut) is hosting a comedy show with the hottest comics around every Wednesday night. Doors open at 6PM, dinner is available, showtime is 9 PM. Crystal's back yard garden is open every night for drinks, dinner and socializing with friends.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Old Stone House Outdoor Events!Join us in July for FREE Outdoor Programming in JJ Byrne Park: Music! Film! Theatre! Dance!Old Stone House of Brooklynwww.theoldstonehouse.org336 3rd StBrooklyn, NY 11215

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

We haven't gotten a look at the new Brooklyn College dorm construction site for about 2 months when Brooklyn Junction gave us this update. I happened to be walking by there today and since the sites enclosure door was open, I snapped the following: (Looks like we have a long ways to go before the completion of this project.)

Newkirk Avenue Block Party, a Livable Streets celebration co-sponsored by Flatbush Development Corporation, New York City Streets Renaissance, and Make Music New York, with participation of Solar One, Brooklyn Compost Project, Council on the Environment of NYC, Transportation Alternatives, Alive Structures, Midwood Martial Arts, and Newkirk Area merchants. Join us for:

Sunday, June 15, 2008

I came across some info on the Flatbush Family Network Yahoo group about the new health spa clinic that I reported to my readers last week.

Apparently, the coop group is calling the clinic "Taproot Community Health Clinic" but is has not settled on that name. According to the responder on FFN;

"We were calling ourselves taproot community health clinic, but we are currently in the process of changing the name (any ideas?) in an effort to reach out to the community for feedback regarding healthcare, we are holding several community health forums, more about that to come if you are interested."

is a worker-owned cooperative opening in Brooklyn, New York in June 2008.

As an answer to the vociferous call for health justice, a group of eight yoga teachers, herbalists, acupuncturists, and community organizers have joined together to develop a socially-just and forward-thinking health clinic. Taproot Community Health Clinic will be a place for acute or chronic health concerns, preventive care and resources for informed choices in healthcare. The clinic will be accessible and inclusive regardless of race, gender, sexuality, class status, immigration status or age.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Maybe it's me but I just don't get it. Why, oh why would someone choose to plant this enormous, garish structure in the middle Gravesend, Brooklyn? Really, who comes up with these ideas? (Note: if look at this image long enough you will see Nero fiddling on one of the balconies. Really, Brooklyn's Burning!)

And, I guess if you're already in the business of building an oversized and inappropriate structure in a small scale working-class neighborhood you might as well go completely off the hook and name it "The Venetian."

There has been some work going on at 380 Marlborough Road just off Cortelyou Road, the former home of Butterfly Learning Center. It is rumored that the site is being transformed into a health spa according to neighbors. The center will be offering massage, yoga classes and other "spa-ish" specialties.

BTW, I am registered at Sammy's Pigeon Feed and Supply House as well as with Jose the Pigeon Trainer. (I have to keep up with my flying lessons. As a street scavenger, I never really got the flying thing down all that much.)

Monday, June 9, 2008

So we're into our third day of temps soaring into the 90s. That officially makes it a heat wave. Eh, you know how it is; some people get nasty, others just drink themselves into oblivion to avoid the uncomfortably. And yet others become extremely creative in finding ways to deal with the heat. You can learn a lot about the true nature of people by observing how they act in prolonged and unbearable heat. At this point in the wave, you'll begin to notice the strange and silly behavior that the citizens of our great borough are capable of and you'll realize; "OMG - I'm living in a borough full of shameless, unadulterated weirdos!"

For instance, on days like this I head straight to the beach after work. (I don't mess with this heat.) But I'm always fairly well-prepared for the excursion - meaning I wear a bathing suit. But when you head down to Coney on a weekday at 5:30 or so wearing a bathing suit in a heat wave, you'll often find yourself in the minority. Underwear is clearly the most popular attire at this hour. For this reason, my appearance is usually frowned upon by the skivvies crew.

Of course, beach people are somewhat unique especially after hours - in a heat wave. They aren't the type to sit on their stoop and complain with the neighbors about it. Sit around a suffer in blazing city heat? - hell no! They're going to do something about their discomfort and they're going to have a little fun in the process.

For high school kids, the after-hours beach scene brings out their mischievous and thrill-seeking conduct. This works out as a nightly game of cat and mouse as they defy Parks Dept Security and sneak back into the refreshing ocean waters before they get chased out again. After the lifeguards leave the bench, the scenario usually works itself out like this:_______________________________________

Parks Security travels east on the beach

and summon the remaining waders out of

the water. They continue their rounds and...

Folks get right back in.

A second Parks Dept crew makes their westward sweep

of the beach to admonish the defiant and then leave.

This is when it gets interesting:

A healthy, young crew of teenagers tumbles the chair to the shoreline and...

into the water.

And the real fun begins...

But what's this on the west side of the beach???

Could it be?

Yes. A second guard chair has made its way into the ocean.

More mischief ensues before Parks

Security returns for the final time.

Beach personnel face the problem of hoisting

the chairs out of the water in the morning.

________________________________________

Oh yeah, and while we're on the topics of bad behavior on the beach, I'll address a much greater travesty. See below:

Com'on people. WTF? How hard is it to pick up your mess and put it in a can. Nevermind answering that question. Just clean up after yourselves before you meet the same fate as those double-crossing media informants mentioned in my previous post.

Now that all persons who violated the "Brooklyn Loyalty Pact" by leaking FP "Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends" information to the mainstream media (namely the NYTimesand NY Magazine) have been effectively tortured into submission or, if warranted, executed, I feel free to continue with the "Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends" series. Certainly, the precedent for such violations has been set. Should any of you FP readers choose to run your mouth about the fabulous Brooklyn institutions so generously imparted on this blog, all I can say is - just make sure your Mama has your dental records!Since that has been made perfectly clear, I can now tell you about one of the most perfect old time Salumarias that still operates in Brooklyn:___________________________________________________________

Eagle Cheese320 Ave. U,

Gravesend Section of Brooklyn

718- 449-2810Owner: The Casamento FamilyEstablished 1942

Eagle Cheese, a family owned business, located on Avenue U between McDonald Avenue and West Street has been serving the Gravesend community what has got to be some of the best homemade mozzerella, cured meats, and italian specialties in the city for over 66 years. While Eagle is known to locals for such tasty goods, I find that Eagle makes the very best cold-cut sandwiches in Brooklyn not only because of the high quality of the meats but also because they have perfected the art of slicing meat to half the thickness of an ordinary piece of paper. Just take a look at the goods:

Eagle also carries a nice assortment of jarred and canned goods as well as Italian cookies and dried pasta.

The real important info you need to know about a visit to Eagle Cheese; Don't forget your wallet! Although, Eagle products are pretty reasonably priced, you are going to want to sample as much as you can. But, rest assured, not a cent of what you'll spend there will be wasted money. So enjoy! Mangia!

Resume Writing & Job Readiness WorkshopPresented by Volunteer Resources and the Education & Job Information CenterGet one-on-one help from Goldman, Sachs & Co. volunteersin this free workshop, and learn how to:• Craft a resume on the computer.• Improve your existing resume.• Impress employers in a job interview.• Find great resources in the library and in the community.that can help you get a better job.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

In honor of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, this week's Featured Brooklynites of the week: Brooklyn Boricua!

"One Proud Rican" relaxed on the beach yesterday.

In case you haven't noticed the increasing presence of the other red, white and blue flags through out the week reminding us all of this annual early June festive event, today is the Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC.

This past Saturday, Rachel Carson High School of Coastal Studies, in association with Tyllar Smith’s family, and The American Federation of Suicide Prevention, did “A Walk for Suicide Prevention.” They met on the boardwalk of Coney Island, right outside the Brooklyn Aquarium and raised money for the cause. Afterwards, they had a huge bbq at Leon S. Kaiser Park on Neptune and Bayview Avenue in Coney Island.

Tyllar Smith's cousins display her image and

their loving sentiments on their tee-shirts.

The official "Walk for Suicide Prevention" T-shirt

Tyllar's Uncle served as dj at the afterparty and he

was not messing around with this sound system.

Flatbush Pigeon offers her deepest condolences to the Smith family at this most difficult time. You are all in my thoughts.